Winter is coming. All men must die. And Game of Thrones has reached mid-season!

The phrase “All men must die”—or Valar morghulis in High Valyrian, the language of highborns in Game of Thrones—is a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. This theme is constantly played out in the HBO series as kings rise and fall from power, family lineages are severed, and slaves rise up against masters. In the image above, the Old Testament figure of Job points to a corpse and asks for God’s comfort with the following words, which medieval Christians would have recited as a prayer while viewing the illumination:

“Waters wear away the stones, and with inundation the ground by little and little is washed away: so in like manner thou shalt destroy man. Thou hast strengthened him for a little while, that he may pass away forever: thou shalt change his face, and shalt send him away… His flesh, while he shall live, shall have pain, and his soul shall mourn over him.” (Job 14:19, 20, 22)

In other words, Valar morghulis.

TV Guide, Medieval Edition

Each week we’ve been unpacking Sunday’s episodes through medieval masterpieces on the Getty Tumblr. Some of the events in Game of Thrones are modern medievalisms, appearing to have jumped right off the pages of illuminated manuscripts. Other moments relate metaphorically to the medieval imagination and spirituality: wild races living at the extremes of known geography, fire-breathing dragons, devotional practices directed toward the divine. Murder, torture, lust, deceit, and merciless justice are given much screen time, perhaps because they are themes as old as human history and they appeal to our darker side.

My Predictions, in Artwork Form

Since we’ve had so much fun unpacking episodes through medieval images (and matching manuscripts to characters), we thought we’d work the other way and use manuscripts to predict the future of Game of Thrones.

Looking into our artistic crystal ball, what can we expect for the rest of the season? Here are nine predictions encrypted in miniatures from a range of manuscripts in the Getty’s collection: apocalypse, chronicle, history, saint’s life, prayer book, fighting manual, romance, and Psalter.

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Listen to this Medieval Manuscript come alive.

THE LANGUAGE: Arabic from a Qur’anic manuscript created in North Africa in the 9th century A.D.

THE READER: Dr. Ovamir Anjum, visiting professor at Bayan Claremont Graduate School and Imam Khattab Endowed Chair of Islamic Studies, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and affiliated faculty in the Department of History at the University of Toledo.